SEBI has issued new rules for depository participants, NSDL and CDSL related with the composition of their boards, salaries of top officials and their listing

New Delhi: Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has notified new governance rules for the depositories including those related to composition of their boards, salaries of top officials and their listing, reports PTI.

Depositories are those entities that hold securities deposited by others and where these securities are exchanged, while depository participants (DPs) largely function as agents of the depositories and as intermediaries between the depository and the investors.

In India, there are two major depositories, National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) and Central Depository Services Limited (CDSL).

As per the regulations notified by SEBI, a depository board would have to include shareholder directors, public interest directors and managing director.

Besides, the chairperson would have to be elected from amongst the public interest directors, whose number cannot be less than the number of shareholder directors.

On the other hand, the Managing Director cannot be included in either the category of public interest directors or shareholder directors.

SEBI said that all directors would have to abide by the Code of Conduct specified under its regulations and a compensation committee would determine the pay of key management personnel.

SEBI said that a depository may apply for listing of its securities on a recognised stock exchange, subject to certain conditions.

Also, depositories would need to segregate its regulatory departments from other departments and would need to have a 'Business Continuity Plan' for data and electronic records to prevent, prepare for, and recover from any disaster.

In order to ensure the segregation of regulatory departments, every depository shall adopt a "Chinese Wall" policy which separates the regulatory departments of the depository from the other departments.

The employees in the regulatory departments shall not communicate any information concerning regulatory activity to any one in other departments.

The employees in regulatory areas may be physically segregated from employees in other departments including with respect to access controls.

In exceptional circumstances employees from other departments may be given confidential information on "need to know" basis, under intimation to the Compliance Officer.

User

SEBI is reportedly thinking about hiring a place or godown for storing these documents and has also asked Sahara to categorise all these papers in proper manner before submission

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)'s woes with Sahara Group are growing as it sought to approach the Supreme Court on the business conglomerate's non-compliance to the 10th September deadline for submission of documentary evidence of money collected from investors through issue of debentures, reports PTI.

According to sources, SEBI is thinking about hiring a place or godown for storing these documents and has also asked Sahara to categorise all these papers in proper manner before submitting it to the market regulator.

Sahara Group is believed to have dispatched two truck-loads of documents to SEBI's headquarters in Mumbai on the issue related to Supreme Court-directed refund of Rs24,000 crore to an estimated three crore investors, while a third truck is said to be on its way and would reach on Thursday.

Officials at neither SEBI nor Sahara group were willing to speak specifically about the ongoing stand-off between them.

However, SEBI sources said Sahara did not comply with the 10th September deadline, set by the apex court, with regard to the money collected through an instrument called 'Optionally Fully Convertible Debentures (OFCDs).

Sources in the know said a truck full of documents containing such documents reached SEBI's headquarters on 10th September evening after the office hours, although the company sources claimed that the regulator was intimated hours in advance about their consignment being stuck at a toll gate on way to SEBI offices.

While the consignment was not received by SEBI as it reached after office hours, another truck full of documents reached SEBI offices on Tuesday and a third consignment is expected to reach there on Thursday, sources said.

While the officials say that SEBI is fully equipped to handle such high volume of documents, it may still seek the apex court's guidance on Sahara not meeting the deadline.

Speaking to reporters in Delhi recently, SEBI Chairman UK Sinha had said that that the regulator is fully equipped with any matter related to concern of shareholders and investors.

He was replying to reports about SEBI setting up a special 'Sahara cell' to deal with the case, wherein the Supreme Court has upheld the regulator's order directing the group to refund thousands of crore collected from investors with interest.

The apex court on 31st August directed two Sahara companies to refund around Rs24,000 crore to their investors within three months with 15% interest per annum.

It said that if the companies--Sahara India Real Estate Corp (SIREC) and Sahara Housing Investment Corp (SHIC) -- fail to refund the amount then SEBI can attach properties and freeze bank accounts of the companies.

The Court has also appointed one of its retired judges Justice BN Aggarwal to oversee SEBI's action in this regard.

Reacting to the court order, the Sahara group had assured its depositors and investors that their money is safe and there will not be any delay in payment commitment to them.

Vikas Gupta

Whatever u say, there is no effect either on Subroto Roy or any of his employees.

anand desai

4 years ago

If you cannot Convince then Confuse.... This seems to be Sahara's strategy in dumping around a million sheets of crap papers . SEBI itself I doubt has the ability to browse through and understand. They will keep on dumping such stuff on the regulators thereby creating confusion; buying time and on the other hand technically being correct of having provided the info.Crazy Company'''' Crazier Regulator

Nem Chandra Singhal

4 years ago

SEBI would have think of it, before hand as it is dealing with private comapnies whose work culture are different than the Govt. Institutions. Not assessing such risks is the failure of SEBI. Always Danda will not work.

Vikas Gupta

4 years ago

Sahara Group Companies are 1 of the most Corrupted & manupulated group of India. I was working with Sahara as a Worker & I know the management & the Employees. They are the most corrupt ones right from Top to bottom.

Attack, they say, is the best form of defence.The "emotionally yours" Sahara group has scored a point. Give the devil his due. Mt sympathies for the moment lie with Sahara.

Vinay Isloorkar, Pune

Following SBI's move to cut interest rates on deposits to 1%, both ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank also reduced their interest rates on fixed deposits by 0.5%

Mumbai/New Delhi: Country's two largest private sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank have revised interest rates on fixed deposits by up to 0.50% each, a week after State Bank of India (SBI), the largest lender in the country, reduced term deposits rates, reports PTI.

ICICI Bank has reduced interest rates of retail fixed deposits by 0.5% for tenures ranging from 91 days to less than 5 years, the bank said in a statement. "ICICI Bank has also rationalised the interest rate on retail fixed deposits of tenure up to 45 days," it said.

Under the revised rates effective from 11th September, the bank, which earlier had a peak offering of 9.25%, will now offer 8.75% for a deposit under Rs15 lakh in the 390-day to less-than-two-year period, according to the information available on its website.

Meanwhile, HDFC Bank has revised interest rate on fixed deposits by up to 0.50% on select maturities.

For deposits of maturity between six months 17 days and nine months 15 days, the upward revision is 0.5% to 7.75%. Term deposits for nine months 16 days would earn 0.25% lower interest at 7.75%.

The rate on nine months 17 days to 1 year fixed deposit would go up by 0.5% to 7.75%, as per the data posted on the bank's website.

Last week, state-run lender SBI slashed interest rate on fixed deposits up to 1% across various maturities.

SBI Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri had said its deposit rate cut of up to 1% was aimed at protecting the margins as deposits have grown much faster than advances in recent months.